Sustainability Report 2016 . 2017 37 Employment figures 2016 2017 Employees Comparison to previous year Employees Comparison to previous year Total employees*6,252 6,679 – of which trainees 582 604 – of which men 4,729 5,002 – of which women 1,523 1,677 – of which aged under 30 years 1,754 1,750 – of which aged 30 to 40 years 1,203 1,381 – of which aged 40 to 50 years 1,513 1,550 – of which aged over 50 years 1,782 1,998 – of which full-time 5,378 5,786 – of which part-time 874 893 – of which temporary 912 542 * Of which employees at foreign locations: 2016: 380 employees, which corresponds to 6.0 per cent of the total workforce; 2017: 368 employees, which also corresponds to 6.0 per cent of the total workforce.AGRAVIS employed 582 trainees in 2016 and 604 in 2017. The retention rate improved from 67 per cent in 2016 to 74 per cent in 2017.The average age of AGRAVIS's overall workforce remained at a constant level of 40.5 years of age, as in previous years. The same applies to the percentage of employees who are covered by collective agreement: as in previous years, they correspond to about 66 per cent of the overall workforce. The proportion of full-time employees increased slightly between 2016 and 2017; in contrast, the proportion of part-time workers fell slightly. The propor-tion of temporary contracts was reduced from 15 per cent to 8 per cent. Feedback 113 performance appraisals were conducted at AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG in 2016, with 1,245 employees receiving a performance appraisal in 2017. As in previous years, the variation in figures can be explained due to the fact that employees in commercial positions receive feedback on their respective work behaviour on a biennial basis. The appraisal interviews follow a standardised appraisal procedure. The appraisal only includes aspects which are relevant to work behaviour, professional qualifications and the employee’s specific role. AGRAVIS sees performance appraisals as key \"management by feedback\" instruments. Employees learn how their performance and conduct is perceived through this feedback. This also enables them to achieve their own goals and those of the company. G4-11 ✓G4-10 G4-LA12 G4-LA11